


Let the Dark Be Withheld

by Deejae_Jane



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-27
Updated: 2015-03-27
Packaged: 2018-03-19 21:15:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3624510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deejae_Jane/pseuds/Deejae_Jane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An ageless Kagome watches as her brother is taken from her. Learning that her abilities have shifted, Kagome must find an old ally to help her control the hatred inside.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Darkness

Nudge and Pressure

 

            Mayori and Souta had been going out for almost two years. They were attached at the hip. How Souta got trapped with a girl like Mayori, I don’t know. I didn’t blame him. I had terrible taste in men. It wasn’t a surprise he followed so eagerly in my footsteps, seeking out a boisterous, loud, greedy woman to fill the gap left by our mother. Not that Mama had been cruel, but loneliness changed Souta, took his wings and gave him rose colored glasses.

            Grandpa was still alive, though he was halfway mad these days. He didn’t just see demons, he heard them now. Whispered about them between his good spells. He could not sleep unless I pressed a false charm into his palm, nonsense leaking from my mouth. Help this man to sleep, end the things that creep. Stupid things, absolutely stupid. But they made his dreams far more pleasant.

            Too bad the nonsense that Mayori uttered had no use. She didn’t help the elderly to sleep. She made me feel tired though.

            Today, Souta and Mayori had stopped by to borrow some old festival kimono. I gave Mayori the cheapest one we had. Neither noticed. They had other things to gush about. The wedding. The baby. The party Mayori insisted be thrown here, in Souta’s childhood home. No matter how I turned the conversation around, Mayori manipulated Souta into pleading on her behalf. Such a witch, Mayori was. I wondered if it was an American trait, to shove yourself on others. To be cheap and unpleasant in the face of negativity.      

“It will be wonderful,” Mayori said. “You will just love Keiko.”

I tilted my head, looking at Souta with narrowed eyes. “Keiko?”

“It was better than Cricket, which is what everyone has been calling her.” Souta placed hand on the soft swell under Mayori’s dress.

“What about boy names?” I asked.

“We haven’t thought anything—I know it’s going to be a girl.” Mayori refused to listen to reason, again. Souta looked at me with desperate eyes. Get along, please. For me.

“Kagome has always been good at guessing,” Souta said. “She does it at festivals.”

“Well, if it’s a boy…” Mayori said, tone suggesting I was mentally challenged. “We will name him for… Your father.”

“I don’t think that is a good idea,” Souta said quickly. “We were not close with him. I would rather name him for Grandfather.”

Mayori nodded. “Touya is a nice name.”

“Grandpa would be honored.” I tried to sound like I meant it. I really did. Grandpa couldn’t remember his own name, let alone be excited for a nameless child. Touya. He had a name, though his parents thought he was a girl. It seemed so wrong, but Mayori was wrong as well. Her nature was strong, for a human. Powerless against a greater force, true. But she could control Souta with a smile. Or perhaps she had never tried to truly fight me. Souta would obey me, if I told him to leave her. But I wouldn’t. I didn’t use my power like that.

I went and got tea. Mayori wanted a cheap rice ball from the pantry. I put it on a plate and brought it to her. She was discussing wall colors. She had a thousand new ideas every day. Only, this time, it was the color of my walls. She suggested something called “burned cinnamon” for the boarders. I looked at Souta. He moved his hand across his lap.

“Don’t you think brown would be lovely?” Mayori asked me. Her green eyes were earnest. When she talked about changing the world, she almost seemed nice. Then the entitlement would rear its ugly head and I would hate her all over again.

“I actually just painted this room… last year? I like the yellow.” I did think brown would be nice, but I would have to change all the furniture, change the décor. Brown was out of the question right now. Though the bathroom might look pleasant with a boarder.

“Oh, I guess we could leave it for a bit,” Mayori said. She was sulking again. “We wouldn’t be moving in until our lease is up.” She stretched her legs. “Though the wallpaper in the nursery will have to be changed. That pink is so 1998.”

Souta looked uncomfortable. He stood up, claiming he needed to use the bathroom. I let Mayori talk. “We are lucky there are so many rooms in here. Though I would prefer the master room, I can understand not wanting to touch Kisaka’s room. No one wants to erase her.”

“But you want to change up my bedroom?” I asked.

“Unless your grandfather wants to move out of his room?” Mayori said. She seemed lost for a moment. Swatches danced behind her vacant eyes. She ran her hand over her belly, stirring Touya up. I could sense him waking up from some sort of dream. He was powerless as well.

Males never got the abilities. Not in the Higurashi line.  Sometimes the girls didn’t get it either. Mom had been weak, sputtering power that died out the older she got. Grandpa had no abilities. Souta would be the same. He didn’t carry even an ounce of ability.

“I am not sure Souta would agree to kicking out our sick grandfather.” I sipped my tea. Mayori looked horrified for a moment.

“That wasn’t what I meant.” Mayori smiled. “Souta says you love kids. You can help out with the baby. It will be nice having someone to help shoulder the burden. I have always wanted my kids to grow up somewhere beautiful.” She already had plans in her eyes, plots and twisted realities.

Souta returned after a moment, water dripping down his neck. He had splashed his face, a habit he never grew out of. He asked what we were talking about.

“Changing the wall color in the nursery,” Mayori said. She pulled him down onto the couch beside her. She had no business discussing my home and the look I sent Souta reminded him of her place.

“Maya…” Souta began. “We’ve talked about this.”

“I know you wanted to wait to get a house when we could afford it. But Kagome is great with kids. She has her own life. The shrine is plenty big for everyone.”

“Kagome owns the shrine.”

            Mayori blinked. “But you both lived here. How could she own the shrine?”

“It’s not like America,” Souta said. “I inherited some money and a few heirlooms. But the shrine passes to the eldest female. It’s rare not to have a girl. Kagome inherited the shrine when Mama passed.”

“She can’t kick you out!” Mayori said. She looked close to tears. “Where will the baby sleep then? In our bedroom with us? In the living room?”

“It’s the Higurashi way. Women run the shrine.” Souta said this with a pride I respected. He never resented me for having the shrine. I wondered if he would resent me for not letting his future wife stay inside the property. He was always welcome. Mayori was not.

XXX

            People were sitting around in a circle. They were in my living room, practicing what Americans called a Baby Shower. Mayori was half American, foreign, her blood was littered with mistakes. She would kill any power Souta had flowing through him. She would destroy our legacy.

            Was this how Sesshoumaru felt? When he looked at Inuyasha? I worried my bottom lip and gazed at Mayori, wondering if I could hate the child inside her. It was still young, it would be very easy to just… touch her. But then Souta would know I did something, know I ended this pathetic attempt at a child before it even started.

            I felt a harsh sting inside my chest, where my heart sat. There was another pulse. It was sweet, I tasted iron and then I fainted. I heard Souta scream and then, nothing.

             I woke hours later in a hospital room. Souta was beside me. He burst into tears and hugged me. He pulled me tight and it hurt. I felt the pulse in my chest again, but I reeled it back. I told myself this was my brother, I wanted him to be happy. But there was a cruel note in the back of my mind, high pitched. It was a familiar laughter.

            Not enough to keep the girl.

          “I… what happened?”

            “You fainted. You have been out for…” He looked at his wrist, like he could give me the exact second. “Three hours."

            “Oh…”

            I felt so tired, so very exhausted. I wanted to sleep again. The voice in the back of my head was telling me I needed to listen better. They are going to tell you something very important. I already know, I have been listening. But you will just love this.

            So I stayed focused, despite the exhaustion. I listened as Souta asked the doctor useless questions. They told me what I needed to know. I had fainted at the party, right after Mayori collapsed on the floor. They thought the shock of seeing the blood, and her losing the baby had triggered my collapse. I hit my head and I was out.

            I gripped the sheets with white hands. What had I done? What had…?

            You wanted her gone, so I showed you what could be done with the right… nudge. The voice was back again, this time bright. It flickered behind my eyes. I could almost see her face, glittering with malice.

            Why would I want that?

            And what had I done?

            And did I care that I did it?

 

 

           

           


	2. Gloom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagome comes to realize she just doesn't fit in with her friends.

"I haven't talked to him in... several months," Kagome said.

Eri and Ayumi had invited her out to dinner at the Foxy Hound. It was themed like an old British cafe, the wallpaper depicting hunting and the gloomy English countryside.

Eri had shortened her hair again, leaving her with a librarian sternness Kagome found comforting. Ayumi was acting like they were still in high school. Sometimes Kagome wished Eri would come to these dinners alone. Ayumi always made her feel trapped.

"You haven't gone to see him?" Eri demanded. "You used to be so close." There was judgement there.

The voice rattled inside Kagome's head. _You don't need them. What have they done to comfort you? Nothing. They are going to blame you. If they knew. They would blame you._

Kagome ignored the voice. She had gotten good at it. Sometimes it made sense. Tonight? Not so much.

"Mayori doesn't want to see me. She claims I killed her baby," Kagome said. Her voice was edged in steel fear. She wondered if Mayori would convince Souta of the truth. Kagome had never told him the extent of her powers. Ending unwanted pregnancies was one of the first things Kagome learned from Kaede, the village priestess.

In times of hunger, children were not a blessing.

Still, Kagome had her own problems to worry about. The voice was edging closer to the surface. It spoke to her while she swept the grounds, asking why she didn’t just make someone do it for her. _‘Why do you keep doing this to yourself? Hire someone to this. Make someone do it for you. Move on to better things.’_

“Aren’t you sad?” Eri asked. 

“You love children,” Ayami said. 

“I’m in shock,” Kagome offered. She was. But she didn’t explain to her ‘oldest’ friends, that the shock came from her own responsibility in the event. _How?_ Kagome was still figuring it out. But she knew the voice played a large part in the destruction of her brother’s son. 

“Understandable,” Eri said. Kagome made a mental note to never seek them out again. _They didn’t help. ‘They are just pathetic humans. You deserve so much better.’_


End file.
